I have a question to anyone on antidepressants?

[WheredidIputmymarbles]

What would you say to someone who needs them but is absolutely petrified to take them for fear that the side effects will make their already shit life worse than it is?

I have tried everything, literally everything to help with this vicious cycle of anxiety/depression/IBS/exhaustion etc but nothing helps.

I would like to hope that antidepressants would/could help even if it’s just a little bit but every time I pluck up the courage I will look at reviews (I know I shouldn’t be I am drawn to them) and see statements like, ‘they gave me terrible nausea and diarrhoea’, I retreat back into myself.

I have awful IBS and health anxiety and the overwhelming angst over the possibility of taking something which could make me worse just stops me every single time but the truth is that I am only living a half life so it’s all crap anyhow.

I have so many responsibilities and shit going on but I trudge through the day in my own weird opaque bubble not really living at all (pretending too) but secretly napping when I can and wishing for the day to end so it becomes dark and I can sleep and block the world out. I would sleep 20 hours a day if I could.

I don’t want to live the rest of my life like that (and certainly don’t want to bring my family down with it either), but I hate my bloody brain so much for shoving extra fear in the way over a medication which may help me.

Has an antidepressant helped you? We’re you fearful? Did they give you bad side effects? I could handle them not helping but the side effects I can not deal with!

I wouldn't be here without them. I did get awful gastric side effects at first so they switched me to a buffered version, and I spread the dose out over the day. I slept a lot for the first 2 weeks but that helped.
I'm going to be blunt - if you need them, take them. Any side effects are manageable and there's no suitable substitute.

When I first had a bad depression, the doctor gave me a lowish dose and I only took them for a couple of months.

You don't need to take them for long if you don't want to. But sometimes you may need a little push in the right direction to change something about your life to help you feel better (does that make sense?:......)

Best of luck!

For me it was a case that the side effects were better than the depression. I did have side effects (nausea, feeling sleepy, like a was in a bit of a daze) but I could deal with them and get through the day. I couldn't get through the day with depression.

Coming off the drugs was hard too- harder than starting them. But the benefit they had of lifting the depression far outweighed any negatives to them.

Nothing in life is a silver bullet, and there are pros and cons of everything, you just have to weigh them up.

If you can, I'd get signed off for he first couple of weeks taking them to allow yourself to adjust. Realise that's not possible for everyone though.

There are side effects but you can change to another AD which suits you better. I took fluoxetine for PND, which didn't help me or suit me at all. I later went on escitalopram which has changed my life. I never want to come off it. Give it a try, you're not just stuck with one AD if it doesn't work out for you.

Sertraline made me a different person in 2 days.
Psychosomatic or not, I don't think so.

It's worth a try if your doctor agrees

I love sertraline. It feels very proactive to help yourself in this way. I read about the side effects and of course I considered them, but many people take anti ds with no side effects. I felt just perfectly myself, myself with no anxiety/depression. It was so freeing. (Past tense because I came off them for pregnancy and haven’t gone back on, but wouldn’t hesitate to restart them if necessary!)
Also I felt very validated to be told ‘yes I think you have (in my case) anxiety, and that these drugs may help you’. Rather than me just telling myself I THINK I have anxiety. To have someone else validate that and then to do something proper about it actually felt really empowering.

My friend has recently started too after lots of (not so helpful) self-help, she has migraines and was terrified of the side effects to the point she didn’t take the meds for a few weeks as too scared. But she’s doing really well on them and hasn’t had the side effects she feared.

if you never try then you’ll never know if they’ll help you or not. Good luck!

I've done a few years on citalopram previously; honestly it gave me back so much freedom I consider it a livesaver

From memory it took around 6 weeks of very low level feeling a bit poorly but it passed. They had to tinker with my dose to get the full effect.

I chose to take myself off after about 2.5 years and cut down over 6 months. I think, as with mirena coil, those with negative experiences are more vocal than those who found it beneficial.

They were great for me, took them for about 18 months. Slowly tapered dose at the end, under medical supervision.

I felt a bit dizzy for two weeks. Apart from that it was all good.

The problem is I guess that the satisfied customers don't leave reviews.

OP if they don't suit you can stop taking them or change to a different one. They could really help you.

Big hug, you sound like you are really struggling.

I had no choice in the end and had to go on them. Really didn’t want to and was worried/scared. First two weeks were hard and felt worse(more anxious/panic). After my body got used to them they cured my depression. Came off slowly and successfully (reducing dose gradually) after 7 months and am fine now. Wouldn’t hesitate to take again if I ever got so ill with anxiety/depression again. That’s obviously just my experience

I refused to take them for over 10 years because I was so scared. What a waste for 10+ years! I wasted it on being bloody scared of them when 1000's of people take the successfully.

I started off on a tiny amount, gradually increasing the dose. No bad side effects at all, infact a rather nice side effect of very lucid (and sexy) dreams.

I hope this helps…..I had many of those same fears about starting antidepressants and resisted taking them for years because of my obsession with what the side effects would be and constantly telling myself ‘if I could just try x, maybe that would make me feel better’. The upshot is I bit the bullet and started sertraline after the birth of my second chid. They have transformed my life and one of my biggest regrets is that I didnt go on them sooner. They have given me the gift of a life that isnt dominated by health anxiety and intrusive thoughts and I don’t regret a second of starting them.

As far as side effects go, I had about 2 weeks of light nausea, not debilitating by any means, and nothing that anti nausea medication like cyclizine wouldnt have sorted had I needed to get a prescription for something to help. I also got occasional dizzy spells for the first week or so but nothing else of note. I started at 50mg for 4 weeks then went on to 100mg. I felt much, much better from an anxiety and general life-coping point of view from about 5 weeks in.

Bite the bullet OP, you’ll be fine.

@WheredidIputmymarbles I'm sorry you're having such an awful time.

I understand where you're coming from. When you feel like you've already hit rock bottom, the LAST thing you need is something that could make it worse, even for a few weeks.

I tried two antidepressants and they didn't work for me. Hear me out though.

First, I'm glad I tried them, as it meant I could rule them out rather than dwelling on the 'what ifs'.

Second, any side effects will make themselves known very early on. They may well subside, but if they get to a point where they become unbearable for you (or you fear this happening) you can just stop, and they will resolve very quickly.

Third, for many (but not all) ADs you can split the pills into halves or even smaller if you're worried. By building up the dose gradually, the risk of side effects is greatly diminished.

Fucking hell
are u me,did I write this in my sleep…I came on here to start this exact same thread

OP, I know you say you’ve tried everything and I don’t want to state the obvious however have you worked with a nutritionist on your gut health? There’s a huge link between gut health and many mental well-being challenges and you mention IBS as well.

I hope you take this comment in the spirit it is intended - not to minimize the tough time you’ve been having but as a hopefully useful suggestion in case you haven’t explored this.

I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling and hope you get some good support here and in real life.

I was also petrified and made myself ill with anxiety during the initial phase. In the end I took them as my life was so awful anyway I thought how much worse can it be and second I had a lovely doctor talk with me and prescribe half the starting dose so it was a very gentle ramp up rather than plunging in, he also left it up to me so I felt in control.

First two weeks I didn't feel better, next month felt ok and more stable and now a couple of months later they have had a big impact on my anxiety and thoughts and I'm extremely happy I started them.

Some good advice on here ,I received mine yesterday,I took one ,but the side effects were bad ,so I’ve not took one today ,I just can’t bring myself to try another.the thought of it taking 6 weeks to work ,feeling like they make me feel ,is not good

Speak to your GP and explain the reasons for your anxiety about taking it - they will understand and help you. You need help, and trust me, if you find the right one, meds can really really help.

Side effects are not guaranteed. I took Sertraline a couple of years ago and didn’t have any physical side effects but felt extremely anxious when on it so it wasn’t for me.

More recently I have tried Fluoxetine which has been a game changer. No side effects other than feeling a bit restless for the first few days, but that was actually great because I got loads of housework done that I’d been neglecting when the depression had become all-consuming.

Please try them. I know it’s a scary step but you can do this 💐

Take them. Modern anti depressants are non addictive, so if you don’t find any benefit to being on them then you come off them. But you have to give it a fair go. There are side effects, but generally in my experience they’re less than the depression.

The anti depressants have given me the space I needed to get other tools in place. If you don’t get on with what you’re on, ask to try a different one. It’s not one size fits all. It took me three goes to find one that works for me.

Another one here who left it way too long before admitting defeat and going for help to the GP. Was petrified of medication, petrified of being turned away because it was a mental problem. GP was absolutely lovely and understanding, gave me fluoxetine, have been on it two months now and it's a game changer for me.

Am still woolly headed in the morning with them, but I'll take that a million times over the self-hatred I used to feel and the anger I held against myself. I actually like myself again now.

Please don't be scared, as my GP said, there's lots of things to try if the first doesn't suit, but it's really worth trying and I hope, like others and myself have done, that you find something that gives you a new lease of life.

I wouldn’t be here without them. I’ve taken them on and off for years, but I was so scared the first time, for the same reasons as you. Then it got to the stage where whatever side effects were possible, they were going to be better than the likely outcome if I didn’t have them. So I started with Fluoxetine and didn’t suffer any side effects at all. I have tried Citalopram but they didn’t really work for me and made me anxious. So now my GP knows that Fluoxetine’s the best one for me.

I think that because some of the side effects can be unpleasant, it adds to the difficulty of taking that very hard first step and asking your gp for them. But it’s important to remember that side effects are not guaranteed and once you’ve found the right medication for you, it can be life changing.

I didn’t get on with anti-depressants. Medication can block feelings and sometimes feelings just need to be processed. We (humans) have an inner intuition about that that society is generally hell-bent on crushing.

Seek out other help that works in a more deep and lasting way for many, many people, like therapy and mindfulness meditation, and emotionally aware teachers such as Eckhart Tolle, Kim Eng, Abraham Hicks, Byron Katie, etc.

They have improved things for me soo much.

I think you need to get them to focus on the long term effects. The first 10 days are shit..... But if your already feeling shit then what have you got to lose, its just a different shit feeling. I think some people still believe you start taking them and boom your happy.

Honesty, brutal honesty needs to be done. Not gonna lie, I felt suicidal in the first week but just take each day as it comes, preferably with no stresses that can heighten or worsen during transition. They should be feeling the effects after about 3 weeks.

I've been on them for years and don't notice a single side effect or even that I take them except I'm happier than without them

Thank you so much everyone for your experiences.
I know I will never see how my body reacts until I try them.
I should never have gotten to this point and nipped it in the bud so to speak but time has just blundered on and it’s been years now the fear has truly set in.
couldyoubesqueakyclean I did try earlier this year but sadly felt that I was ripped off by a so called gut expert. I paid £200 for her to ‘advise’ me that if I eat 10 vegetables per day I would cure my gut issues within a month! It has put me off seeing anyone else but my hope was if I could reduce my anxiety induced side of the IBS with meds then when I felt stronger I could really work on the dietary side of things.
GandTfortea I’m sorry you are currently struggling too and you didn’t get on with that first tablet. Is there anyway you could cut them in half and take it slowly? I think that’s what I will try if it’s allowed.